Surfside Beach holds emergency meeting to prepare for Irma impacts

SURFSIDE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - The town of Surfside Beach is preparing for any potential impacts from Hurricane Irma by declaring a state of emergency.

During Friday's emergency council meeting, the resolution for emergency management was changed after some council members said they wanted more transparency with emergency spending this time around.

"So now after the emergency is over, the citizens, council, taxpayers can all see exactly what we spent the money on," said Councilman Randle Stevens.

One of the important things emergency funding is usually spent on is debris removal.

"That is the big thing is getting a contractor in here to remove the debris. As you might know, the town staff is not equipped to deal with the monstrous amount of debris that we had for Hurricane Matthew. We need contractors here to assist with that," said Surfside Beach Mayor Bob Childs.

Although Irma's cone of uncertainty does not currently include Horry County, Childs said he is still preparing in case things change. The fire department, police, and public works are all ready to deal with damaging weather.

The Army Corps of Engineers has stopped beach renourishment in the town. According to a spokesperson, the barges used for the project are being brought to safe harbor. The equipment and piping will also be removed from the beach until the threat of a hurricane is gone.

"Tonight we might be back to not as well off, so it's hard to tell the way of the storm," said Childs.

Even though there is not currently a threat to Surfside Beach, town officials are urging neighbors to continue preparing in case the forecast does change.

"We want everybody to be careful. We want everybody to be prepared as much as possible and we want everyone to take this storm seriously," said Childs.